1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a small, hand operated nut cracking device.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many consumers have small quantities of edible nuts, such as pecans and walnuts, at home. This creates a need for nutcrackers in the home, which can properly crack the tough shell of the nuts without unduly damaging the meat. It is desireable for these nutcrackers to operate quickly, easily, and as pleasantly as possible. Since the nutcracker may be left out in view of guests, it is benefitial for the nutcracker to be attractive and maintain an appealing posture.
Inventors have created numerous nut cracking devices. They have used various mechanical principles, such as single levers, double levers, screw action, and impact objects to crack the shells. U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,810 to Miller 1976 uses a different mechanical principle. A descriptive name for this principle would be frustumic leverage. A number of levers corresponding to the shape of a frustum are connected at each end to a rotatable plate. The levers are manipulated to crack the nuts. Due to the varying sizes of nuts and the design of the Miller device, only a small percentage of nuts would be cracked easily. Other nuts would be difficult to crack and usually the nut meat would be damaged excessively. Loose connections between the levers and plates, causes this type of nut cracker to rattle when moved. Loose connections also cause it to lean awkwardly to one side when it is left in a stationary position.